Craving the World

Brian Fletcher — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:41:13 +0000

I am always being dragged away and enticed by the world and Satan, that dog who won’t go away but hounds me constantly. I feel like I am constantly fighting with hardly any relief. However, the best relief that I have found always comes from the Scriptures. God’s Word is the best anti-venom for counter-acting the poison of sin and lusting after worldly things. The writer of Hebrews says this about temptation:

“For because He [Jesus] himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Hebrews 2:18.

I don’t always think of “suffering” through temptation. I usually think of temptation as annoying and bothersome, like being outside when the mosquitoes are really bad. But this verse says that Jesus “suffered” through temptation. He had to endure it and it was not pleasant. But we don’t like pain, we crave pleasure, we avoid pain at all costs. So we give in to temptation because it is more pleasurable (at least in the short run) than suffering and enduring through and not giving into temptation. But we must see the reality of life in a fallen world, where the battle rages for our souls. The reality that temptation will always be present (until Jesus comes back) and so we will always be in a constant state of suffering, of enduring and fighting off temptation. Suffering in this life is inescapable, but thanks be to God who has given us a Savior who not only can empathize with our suffering but gives us the grace and strength to endure it and fight it off.

I John 2:15-17 shows us the Truth:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world– the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does– comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

Ask the Lord to give you strength and grace to suffer and not give into sin just because it seems more pleasurable – for ultimately sin kills and destroys us – only holiness and purity bring life and this is what Jesus has clothed us with. Pray that God will satisfy you with Jesus and His overwhelming love rather than the passing things of this world.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” John Piper

All for Jesus,

Fletch

I Want to Win the Lottery?

Brian Fletcher — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I want to win the Lottery! No I don’t, yes I do, no I don’t, yes…no!, maybe? In my town there are lottery ads on every billboard, sometimes the pot gets up to 350 million dollars! What in the world would someone do with 350 million dollars? We haven’t a clue. But our desire is to win the lottery. It would solve all my problems. I could buy a new car and never worry about it breaking down and not having the money to fix it. I could go to the grocery store and not have to pinch pennies or hand over any coupons. I could go on dream vacation after dream vacation. We would figure out a way to spend it. But do I really want to win the lottery? We’ve all heard story after story of how people who have actually won the lottery have ruined their lives. It has destroyed marriages instead of strengthening them, it has caused family relationships to get worse not better, all that money makes people do things they would never have done. Most of the money is just wasted. Studies have shown that many people who win the lottery end up broke and lonely. But that would never happen to me…right. Winning the lottery probably would destroy my life.

But because I still have this desire to win the lottery, I am forced to examine my desires. Each day I have different desires. Here are some that I have had lately:

I want a new car
I want a house on a lake
I want a super vacation to Acadia National Park (our family is going but I really don’t have quite enough money and I’m worried I will come back with a big VISA bill)
I want to accomplish something great and have everybody know about it
I want to go on a trip to the Holy Land
I want a perfectly manicured lawn

The list could go on and I am sure that you have some things you have been thinking about lately as well. But, what I was created to desire does not match up with these earthly desires. I struggle each day to desire the things that God wants me to desire rather than my own personal lusts. I believe we can find out what God wants us to desire from studying the Scriptures. I decided to test this idea this morning. I said, “I’m going to read Ephesians 1 and find out if it says anything about what God desires for me to desire. Here are a few things I found:

God wants me to desire to be faithful to Christ
To desire experiencing peace with God through Jesus
To desire spiritual blessings from heaven (not from earth)
To desire holiness
To desire the riches of his grace (not the riches of the lottery)
To desire an eternal inheritance (not an earthly one)
To desire to love the saints
To desire to give thanks
To desire prayer
To desire a spirit of wisdom
To desire Christ’s power exhibited through my life for his glory (not my own)

I can’t wait to continue to pour over the Scriptures and find out more desires that God has for me. The earthly desires of what I want need to be replaced with the heavenly desires that God wants me to have. I was created this way. My desires need to be God-centered not self-centered. I truly believe my life will be rich and full and satisfying if I desire what God has in store for me rather than what the lottery can buy at the store for me.

All for Jesus,

Fletch

Live For Christ Resources » desires

Craving the World

I Want to Win the Lottery?